Fresh Tart

These are technically shirred eggs, which are eggs baked whole out of the shell.  But since I don't like the word shirred, I'm just calling these baked eggs.  This recipe is based on another beauty from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book (I've said before that it's a lovely book; I still mean it).  I riffed on the original and added the toasted breadcrumbs and scallions.

These are the easiest eggs this side of pie - oh wait, I already used that one.  Well then, they're as easy as a slap (that's Czech, I looked it up online, it's my new favorite "easy as" phrase, so expect to see it again).  As Marion says, "Shirred eggs are a convenient dish to serve when you have invited a number of people over for breakfast; you might try cooking a number this way using buttered muffin tins instead of ramekins."  Fabulous advice, especially since they're so pretty.

And creamy and good, so you will definitely want two for each person (the four pictured were gone in four minutes; I've clearly recovered from last night's over-indulgence and in fact found these rather restorative).  You could serve them with hot, buttered toast, but I think they don't need it, given the buttered breadcrumbs at the bottom of the dish.  Up to you, of course.  John wished for crispy bacon as a side and that did make sense to me.  Next time. (Tomorrow).

Eggs Baked with Breadcrumbs, Cream & Scallions

Adapted from a basic recipe by Marion Cunningham from The Breakfast Book

Makes 4 eggs (honestly, serves 2)

1 Tbsp. butter

1 c. fresh breadcrumbs (from approximately 2 slices of bread)

2 scallions, minced

salt and pepper

4 medium eggs

8 tsp. whipping cream (2 tsp. for each egg)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of salt and stir around until nicely toasted and browned, about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the minced scallions.

Put four small ramekins on a baking sheet.  Divide the breadcrumb/scallion mixture among the ramekins.  Crack one egg into each ramekin, then drizzle 2 tsp. of cream over each egg.  Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.  Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12 minutes (or up to 15 minutes, which is how long it took for our eggs to no longer have any clear whites, yet still-runny yolks; but start peeking at 12 minutes - once they're over-cooked, there's obviously no going back...).

If you're making toast and/or bacon, do it while the eggs bake, because you'll want to eat them immediately (they continue to cook in the hot ramekin).

I'm serious - I've made buttermilk biscuits a few times and while they're not difficult, they require...buttermilk...which I don't consistently have in my fridge.  They also require cutting cold butter into flour, which again is not difficult, but is just fussy enough to prevent me from whipping them up on some random Sunday morning.  Which is probably a good thing, given that biscuits are neither particularly nutritious nor light.  But whatever, I'm not going to make them every day, or even every week, and despite hailing from the not-South, I love biscuits, oh my goodness do I love them.  Forget honey and jam, I don't need them sweet (although they're lovely that way), I crave them with eggs or sausage or bacon, oh yeah.  Rib-stickin', with hot black coffee, ready to work on the ranch.  Or to grab my camera, take a few pictures, sit down, and write about it all.

Anyhow, about the biscuits.  If you're thinking about what to make your honey(s) on Valentine's Day, which conveniently falls on a Sunday this year, might I suggest cream biscuits for a lazy brunch?  (Actually, might I suggest the book I got the recipe from - Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book, full of the most wonderful, delicious, breakfast recipes you can imagine, it would make a very romantic gift, rarrr...)  As Marion says: "These biscuits are superior, and no student ever failed to make good ones in James Beard's cooking classes.  They are better than most baking powder biscuits, and they are so ridiculously simple, you don't have to be awake to make them.  They should be in your permanent recipe file."

So there.  I can add that they are indeed that easy, and that delicious.  I would (and did) top them with softly scrambled eggs, a shower of minced scallions, and a sprinkle of salt & pepper.  Happy Valentine's Day to whomever you make these for!  Love, Stephanie (Recipe here.)